Tuesday, March 18, 2008

A continuing failure by the DNC

Today, the DNC's general counsel told the Associated Press what he told me when I contacted him regarding a) the need for the DNC to get out in front and LEAD on the matter of seating Florida and Michigan at the convention and b) that I would not donate money to the party unless and until they demonstrated they could achieve this. According to the AP story, Mr. Sandler basically disavowed any responsibility the National Party has to to the voters in state primaries; he emphasized the National Party's right to make and enforce its own rules.

But NOBODY is questioning the National Party's right to do that.

As any attorney knows, processes and rules sometimes have to be revisited and revised even midstream particularly if such processes and rules are working AGAINST the very end they were meant to achieve. The DNC added some states to early voting schedule to ensure wider participation and greater representation in the nominee selection process. Note the goal: wider participation, greater representation.

The candidates themselves respected the DNC's orders regarding Michigan and Florida: they did not campaign in those states. Senator Obama, like Senator Clinton, allowed his name to appear on the Florida ballot. Unlike Senator Clinton, he chose to withdraw his name from the Michigan ballot. DNC rules permitted either option for each candidate.

The people who are now being most heavily penalized by the DNC are NOT the candidates. No, it is the voters in Michigan and Florida who, with no other option to make their preferences known, voted in the primaries their states held. Participation. What the DNC said it wanted. A northern "rustbelt" state and a southern state with an extremely diverse population. Representativeness. What the DNC said it wanted.

Equity and justice demand that the DNC get over the mindless "rules are rules" position. Either seat the delegations as the people voted or make a repeat possible. The DNC exists to solve problems and provide solutions facing Democrats as a whole. All Democrats are being injured by the current failure of leadership by the DNC.

2 Comments:

KathyVT said...

The lack of leadership, or perhaps it really is collusion, by the DNC is stunning. In the wake of the Wright mess, they seem more determined than ever to foist an unelectable candidate as the nominee. I am terribly angry with the DNC and truly am thinking of sitting out this election.